android kindle

The Look: Dior classics brought into modern haute couture styling; Creative director Raf Simons looks back (at the Dior archives and maybe some Cristobal Balenciaga references) using the "sack" dress as the star, while looking to the future using modern fabrications/appliques/treatments; fabrics moved; intricately cut-out organzas, silks; pretty, feminine; red carpet looks for the more modern "Hollywood It Girl".







Colors: Navy, ivory, pastels, light lilac,



Trends: Full skirted; wasp-waists; pastels; Hi-lo silhouettes; sack shape with gathered/bubbled back; cut-out/lattice fabrics; the J-shaped shoe:







Collection Highlights:





























Click below to watch the ENTIRE Runway Video:

 Canadian model of Eritrean descent, Grace Mahary--Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall 2013



Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Fall 2013 is upon us and the first shows have occurred. First up: Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall 2013. The collection--designed by Belgian Creative Director and replacement to John Galliano-- Raf Simons. His collection was based on flags--international flags, as well as influences from America, Africa and Asia. As Style.com said "A revamped Bar jacket was followed by a sporty navy blouson; a strapless dress in tiers of spacey shibori (the Japanese process that produces that peculiar spiky fabric) preceded another strapless number vibrantly banded in shiny tribal colors. Dior himself was something of an internationalist (each collection, Simons reproduces two dresses by the old master as an homage), so it would have made sense to him". The collection was a mix of stiff, folded, pleated--and draped and fluid. It was definitely modern and continuing the Raf Simons-Revamp of the Dior Couture House...







Of note, this was THE FIRST time designer Raf Simons used models of color while being at Dior. Black models. He hasn't yet. And he had been criticized because of it (Good!). It seems he (or the Dior team) listened. And there were six black models on the Dior Haute Couture Fall 2013 runway including Alek Wek, Grace Mahary, Joan Smalls, Maria Borges, Kelly Moreira, and Yasmin Warsame.  Now, getting back to the FASHION...

Here are some of my "Nick Top Picks" from the collection:























Now, do you want to know what will actually end up on the Red Carpet, at a very important awards show? Well, take a look:


















Click below for Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall 2013 Runway Video:

Strapless COUTURE, Watteau backs, Simple Sublime...and then there's Versace:








Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Week began yesterday in Paris. For those of you who need a quick "re-freshening" on Haute Couture:

*Only certain design houses/designers are allowed to be members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture--and be allowed to use the word "Couture" in their title and/or advertising--and of course, be allowed to show Couture Collections in Paris.

*There are only a handful of brands/designers doing Haute Couture (which translates into "high sewing", "high dressmaking", "high fashion"), including Dior, Valentino, Giambattista Valli, Elie Saab, and so on.

*Almost every seam on a Couture garment is HAND-DONE. Yes, even a simple side seam of a pant! Couture garments can take hundreds--if not thousands of hours to complete.







*Couture are custom made/made-to-order clothing (as opposes to off-the-rack), beginning with the client choosing the design via the fashion show look books, an appointment is made, consultation, follows, a muslin/toile of the ordered garment is made, 3-5 fittings follow, and then a final fitting and/or delivery of the garment.

*A Couture jacket can cost about $30,000, $45,000+  for a cocktail dress and $100,000+ for a gown.



*There are only an estimated 2,000 clients in the entire world who are considered regular customers of Couture. These clients used to be very wealthy American socialites (usually from Texas or NYC)--as well as Euro royalty. Now, most of these clients hail from Russia, the Gulf States, Middle East, China, and Brazil--the so-called "emerging nations" with the most multimillionaires./billionaires.



*In terms of the "bottom line" and business, Couture makes only a small profit; it can cost around $1 million to mount a runway show (making the clothes, hiring the models, location, flying in A-list celebs to sit in the front row). The Couture Collections are used as a marketing tool, to sell auxiliary items of the brand--such as perfumes, sunglasses, accessories.



*Finally, actresses get to borrow Haute Couture for big red carpet events--such as the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc. They usually will wear the runway/showroom sample (so therefore, they must fit into the runway size 2) because it is too costly to create a separate dress specifically for them but there are exceptions. The Couture gowns are then returned to the designer so it can be part of their Archives.



Now, let's discuss this season's Couture, beginning with Dior and Atelier Versace:



Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013:





























The Look: Flowers, Garden Party dresses, luxe separates. Watteau backs. Audrey Hepburn-esque models with glittering lipstick.  Strapless dresses, bustiers. Lots of delicately embellished work, sequins, flower crystals. Light-as-air silk gazar, organza cocktail dresses. Asymmetrical shapes. Razor-sharp jackets, slim cropped trousers. Pockets, pockets and more pockets...in dresses and gowns. Those SUBLIME final gowns!



Click below for Full Runway Video of Dior Couture Spring 2013: